Grading-machine



(NoModel.) L. G. GANDY.

GRADING MACHINE;

110.288. 120.- U Patented Nov. 13, 1.883.

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GRADING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 288,420, dated November 13, 1883.

Application filed May 16, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern):

Be it known thatI, LEWIS O. GANDY, of Humboldt, in the county of Richardson and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Grading Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of simple and substantial construction for grading and leveling earth, and one more especially adapted for quickly and economically making the roadbeds of railways.

The invention consists in a cutter for the earth, mounted on a suitable frame, by which it is drawn, and adjusted as to its depth of working by vertically-adjustable pilot-Wheels, with devices for locking the frame and wheels at the desired height, together with a backwardlyextending mold-board for receiving the earth dislodged by the cutter, and conducting said earth to one side of the grade, the mold-board being supported by a wheeled truck or carriage connected by chains to the frame, and the axles of said truck being connected to the mold-board by open clip or loop bearings, permitting limited independent forward movement of the carriage and mold-board to relieve the mold-board of strains as the machine passes over irregular ground-surfaces, all as lereiuafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan View of my improved gradingmachine. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation thereof, with one side plate of the cutter partly broken away; and Fig. 3 is a detail side sectional elevation of the truck-axle connection with the mold-board.

Upon any suitable substantial wood or metal frame of side bars, a, central longitudinal beam, 6, and end bars, a, I fix the plow or cutter, which consists of the bottom plate, d, having a sharp forward edge, (2, which may be any approved form of removable cutter-blade, and the side plates, 6, by the upper end or edges of which plates 6 the cutter is bolted or other wise secured to the side frame-bars, a, said plates 6 forming guards to confine the earth dislodged by the cutter and guide the earth to the mold-board f, which is suitably connected to the cutter-plate d at g, and curves to either side-in this instance to the rightfor conducting the earth from the cutter to one side of the grade, the face of the mold-board being smooth to permit the earth to be carried along it with minimum friction by the pressure of the earth at the front by the action of the cutting-blade, a side guard-plate, h, being provided at one or both sides of the mold-board to the point of discharge of the earth, which may be on the ground at the side of the grade, or upon wagons or flat cars ranging alongside of the grade, as desired.

The mold-board f is supported behind the cutter d c by a carriage or truck consisting of any required number of axles, i, and looselyfitted Wheels j, one at each end of each axle, the axles being connected by bars k, and having also a loose connection with the mold-board f,

by passing through elongated loops. or clips Z,

secured to the mold-board, and which hold the I mold-board to the axles or carriage in a manner to permit a limited backward and forward sliding movement of the mold-board on the truck, or of the truck beneath the moldboard, pins or studs m being fitted in the axles, at the sides of the clips Z, to prevent any relative lateral play of the mold-board or truck, which latter is flexibly connected by the draft-chains n to any suitable crossbar extension, 0, of the frame, braced thereto at 0. By this construction of the moldboard connections to its supportingtruck and the described connection of the truck to the frame by the draft-chains n the mold-board is entirely relieved of the draftstrain of the truck, and the truck and moldboard have every required independent flexibility of movement to prevent injurious strains on the extended mold-board by the passage of the machine over varied and irregular landsurfaces, as must be done by the nature of the wvork required, thus increasing the effectiveness and durability of the machine.

For adjusting the machine to cut at varying depths in the ground, as desired, I arrange the standardsp of the forward or pilot wheel or wheels, 0-, which. roll on the ground-surface, to slide in the bearings s of beam 1), and pivot the standards toa lever, t, fulcrumed in any one of a vertically-ranging series of holes in a 7 to which it may connect at any desired height by a pin entering any one of a series of holes, 0, or by any suitable ratchet-and-pawl or other device.

The handle of lever t is in convenient reach of the operator on a seat, 10, suitably located on a standard fixed to the frame to best balance the machine when at work, and any suitable foot-rests may be provided for the riders comfort.

I propose to draw the machine by a tractionengine connected to the clevis a; of the beam b, and to traverse the road-bed back and forth, cutting or grading it one-half at a time, and discharging the dislodged earth to either side; but the operating-power and method of use will depend largely on the capacity of the machine-which may vary as desired-and the nature of the work to be done.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the cutter d e and its frame a b c, of the mold-board f h, truck 2' j k, clips or loops 1, and draft-chains n, connecting the truck with the frame, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination,with the cutter d e, fixed to a draft-frame, and the mold-boardfh,secured to the cutter and supported on a truck, 1' j k, by clips I, of the pilot-wheels r, vertically adjustable for governing the working depth of the cutter, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination,with a grading-machine frame carrying the earth-cutter and a backwardly-extending mold-board, of a supporting wheeled truck flexibly connected to said frame, and attached by loop-bearings to the axle to allow a limited independent movement to truck and mold-board, as described.

LEWIS O. GANDY.

WVitnessesz' J. MIDDLETON,-

SoLoN O. KEMoN. 

